


Terrible Love

by Daiya_Darko, jessicamiriamdrew



Series: Bruce Banner is Not a Shy and Passive Man [4]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Domestic Violence, Emotional Manipulation, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 10:36:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daiya_Darko/pseuds/Daiya_Darko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicamiriamdrew/pseuds/jessicamiriamdrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce is like the sun: he warms Tony and gives him what he needs, but he's also unforgiving, burning into him relentlessly until he's left with hand shaped tumors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Terrible Love

When Tony awakes on the hard floor of his garage, he already knows what has happened without looking around. His throat is sore, lips chapped, and he can taste blood on his tongue. Every part of his body aches. A few feet away, he sees a model of his new suit smashed to pieces.

His body trembles with fear, but he swallows and stands. Tony brushes his hands off on his jeans and wipes blood from his mouth as he takes a look around. Bruce is sitting at the work table with a soldering iron that looks delicate in those large, calloused hands.

Those hands…

Tony licks his lips and starts toward Bruce. He can still feel those hands tightening around his neck as they turned green. Tony recalls how those once gentle hands quickly became violent, and hesitates before saying anything.

“I’m sorry.”

Bruce sets the tool down and looks up from over his glasses. The smile soothes Tony, but he’s still apprehensive.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost control like that.” He removes his glasses and stands, holding open his arms to invite Tony in for a hug.

He cringes internally at the sight of Bruce’s open arms. His mind is telling him it’s a bad idea but his heart is urging him forward. Tony knows how good Bruce’s arms can feel around his body, but he’s still reeling from what just happened.

Still, the hug will make Bruce happy and all Tony wants is for Bruce to be happy. It’s those moments when Tony is reminded of why he and Bruce are together. They make sense.

Tony walks into Bruce’s embrace and tries to ignore the recoil in the pit of his stomach. Bruce’s hug is tight enough that Tony feels safe and wanted and loved.

“It was my fault,” he says. Bruce’s hands tighten around him, pressing into a bruise, and Tony ignores the pain.

Bruce kisses his forehead and Tony falls into the embrace. They are okay. Bruce’s hands are warm and comforting around him. Tony pushes away any thoughts of his armor and messes because right now he just needs Bruce to keep holding him.

“Why don’t we go on up to bed, huh?” Bruce suggests, a firm hand sliding from the bruise on Tony’s hip to just above his butt. Tony smiles, his lip twitching at the movement, and Bruce catches his hesitation.

Tony could kick himself.

“What’s wrong?” Bruce’s face darkens, and a quick hand moves to cup Tony’s chin.

_Focus, breathe — don’t let him see your fear._

“Nothing. I’m just a little sore, is all.”

Bruce’s face relaxes, and the hand cupping his chin pinches the skin gently.

“Well in that case, I’ll go start you a bath. When you’re done, come to bed.” He kisses Tony roughly, eagerly, and it’s all Tony can do to not pull away and suit up. He doesn’t want this, doesn’t want Bruce’s tongue sadistically flicking at the cuts so that he can taste the blood. He knows how much Bruce enjoys seeing blood.

It’s one of the few things he and the Hulk have in common.

Bruce smiles and heads up the stairs, leaving Tony to his thoughts. He tries to recall what had set off Bruce earlier, but his memories are hazy.

_Okay. Clean up a little while Bruce is occupied. Turn off the lights and take your bath. Try to be good._

He starts to straighten up just a little bit to give the bath time to fill. He doesn’t want to come up too early and bother Bruce. He thinks about slippery tiles and his head cracking on the ground.

It was the company trip. He’d told Bruce he would need to leave town for a week to go to a meeting with business investors. He hadn’t thought it would be an issue; Bruce usually understood when it came to Stark Enterprises. The bile rose in his throat as he remembered how quickly Bruce’s face had shadowed.

“Again, you're not asking my permission first, Tony.” Bruce had sighed and looked contemplative before his fist cracked into Tony’s face.

Tony shudders and pushes the memory away and hopes it’ll be pushed out soon by scientific papers and research. He doesn't want to get used to asking for permission, but he forgets to every time. As he trudges up the stairs to the bathroom, he wonders if Bruce will be sympathetic.

He doesn’t bother to close the bathroom door. Bruce will accuse him of hiding something and he doesn’t want to set Bruce off again tonight. Tony briefly catalogues the bruises and cuts when he slowly takes off his clothing.

The water in the bathtub is scalding and he yelps when he lowers his body into it. The heat sears into the cuts and Tony bites the inside of his cheek to keep from making any more noise. His fingers curl painfully against the edges of the tubs as he tries to breathe slowly. Focusing on his breathing, he can almost forget the sting of hot water and wounds.

Tony takes his time washing his hair and letting the water run over every part of his skin. He has to move at just the right pace: too quickly and Bruce will think he doesn’t appreciate it and too slow will just make Bruce impatient.

Tony remembers the last time he made Bruce impatient and his breath catches in his throat. He tries to block out the memory of being dragged out of the bathtub by his hair and then whipped with a belt on the cold, hard tile.

_“Tony Stark, too good to consider anyone else’s needs!” Bruce screamed. “Stop being so selfish for once in your life!”_

_  
_Bruce always manages to make him feel guilty, and in the back of his mind, Tony figures that he deserves it. He deserves all the bad shit in his relationship, and he could hardly blame Bruce for his behavior; that’s how Bruce was raised.

And of all people to understand that, Tony would definitely be number one.

When his time is up, Tony drains the tub and grabs a towel to dry his hair. He contemplates putting on some clothes, but he already has an idea of what Bruce has in mind, so he instead wraps the towel around his waist and steps into his bedroom.

Bruce is shirtless, sitting up in bed, and reading a novel. He glances up over his glasses and smiles affectionately.

“Feel better?”

“Much. I didn’t realize how sore my lumbar and feet were. I guess you’re right about me spending too much time in the garage.” Tony crawls into bed and drops the towel on the floor, letting his shoulder nudge gently against Bruce’s. 

“You really should listen to me more. I only want what’s best for you, Tony.” Bruce kisses him, this time slowly, with a hand cupping the back of Tony’s head for support. It’s moments like these that Tony feels everything is right with the world. He can almost forget the pain, the excruciating pain, he has to deal with on a day to day basis.

The way Bruce’s hands scratch gently at the base of Tony’s head makes him moan quietly. Bruce’s hands are simultaneously the best and worst part about him, how they can go from slamming his head into a wall to…this.

These soft, slow touches remind Tony of the doctor’s calm, gentle disposition, the Bruce Banner he first met. Even the Hulk was caring. Tony figured he was special.

Maybe he still is.

Right now, he can’t bring himself to remember what transpired barely an hour ago, because Bruce’s hands are moving all over Tony’s body, pinching and tickling in spots Bruce knows Tony likes.

It’s hard to hate someone who knows and loves you more than anyone else, even when they hurt you.

So Tony forgives Bruce, and they make love slowly that night. Bruce is generous enough to let Tony come twice before finishing himself, and when he kisses Tony goodnight on the forehead, Tony can’t help but smile.

_Things aren’t perfect, but relationships seldom are._

At least, that’s what he tells himself. It’s a comforting lie.


End file.
